Moving back home

Hey y’all, I hope everyone is doing well. I’ve been thinking – don’t worry, there’s no smoke yet. :) Since I’ve started writing a novel, and still trying to keep up with my flash fiction, short stories, and essays, never mind working full-time and raising a family, I’m a bit short on time lately. Hence the reason you’ve not seen many posts here on DHA.

I’ve had fun writing stories to go with my family recipes, but I believe it’s time to close this blog. But don’t worry – I’ll still post stories and recipes on my original nonfiction blog, The Life of a Working Writer Mommy. You’ll just see these posts under the recipes category there.

This has not been an easy decision to make. When I dreamed up Deanna’s Happy Accidents, just five short months ago, I was so very excited about it. I felt that my nonfiction blog was just too “busy” and was too difficult to navigate if you wanted to find a recipe, so I opened this blog to move my recipes and their stories here. It was a good idea at the time. In fact, I believe most of my ideas sound great the minute I think of them, but most of the time those ideas don’t come to fruition. Instead, they sit around in my head knocking, knocking, knocking, begging for attention. The majority of them get pushed back, or downright ignored. But the idea of Deanna’s Happy Accidents just happened to be born when I had two weeks off work and was wallowing in the time I had to build it. So it was one of the luckier ones that got that oh-so-needed attention.

But there’s no need to ramble. I just wanted to tell you all about closing DHA. I don’t have a specific plan just yet. Of course I have all the stories and recipes posted here saved on my computer, but what I don’t have are your comments, and I don’t want to lose those. So, when I get a minute to breathe, I’ve got to try to figure out the easiest way to save them before I delete the blog. [If anyone knows an easy way to do this, I’d appreciate you leaving a comment to let me know.] The time you’ve taken to read these stories and recipes, and leave comments, mean the world to me, and I don’t want to just throw them out.

I’ll post another blog here as soon as I have a schedule prepared for moving everything, and will let you know the proposed date Deanna’s Happy Accidents will be deleted.

Thank you all so very much for your loyalty. I hope you’ve enjoyed this blog, and I hope you’ll head over to The Life of a Working Writer Mommy to read my posts there, which of course will include my recipes and the stories behind them.

Also, if you aren’t familiar with my fiction, be sure to check out my fiction site, The Other Side of Deanna. And when I say “the other side”, I really mean it. You’ll find stories here that may leave you thinking Deanna wrote this? I hope you’ll drop by and I hope you enjoy the stories, on both my nonfiction and fiction blogs.

Thank you all very much for your loyalty and your friendship!

Love, Deanna

 

 

 

 

It’s Grilling Time!

Spring is here! Woo-hoo, time to drag out the grill and get cooking. Now, you might have a hard time believing this, but I’m not the best when it comes to grilling, at least not with a gas grill. I seem to do just fine with charcoal. I have no idea why that is, I just let the hubby do all the grilling around here. However, having tried a number of times, I finally mastered the chicken for this southwest raspberry grilled chicken salad. It actually started out as just southwest grilled chicken salad, but because I’m the only one in this house who likes spicy food, I had to figure out some way to get the boys to eat it, so, to sweeten it up a bit, I threw in the apples and the raspberry flavorings. To my amazement, it tasted even better than “plain ole’ spicy”.

The best thing about making salads is that measurements don’t have to be exact. The measurements listed in this recipe are approximate according to how I make it. If you like more of one ingredient than another, then by all means, mix things up! *Note – I’m talking about the salad part only here; the measurements for chicken marinade should be exact.

I hope you’re having nice weather wherever you are and that you can get that grill out and make this right away. If not, don’t worry – I’m sure the sunshine will be out soon. Be sure to leave a comment and let me know how you like my southwest raspberry grilled chicken salad. Enjoy!

Southwest Raspberry Grilled Chicken Salad

Grilled Chicken:

• 2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken tenders
• 1 pkg. McCormick’s GrillMates Southwest Marinade 
• 2 Tbs. water
• 2 Tbs. raspberry vinegar
• ¼ cup olive oil *You can use vegetable, canola or corn oil if you choose – I use olive oil for the light taste and because it’s healthier.

Salad:

• 4 cups fresh baby spring greens or mixture of green and red leaf lettuce*You can use iceberg, but it has no flavor, and very little nutrition
• 2 cups fresh spinach
• Salt, to taste
• Fresh ground pepper, to taste
• Red pepper flakes, to taste (optional)
• 1/3 cup shredded carrots
• 4 – 6 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 1 cup chopped Braeburn apples
• ½ cup shredded Italian Parmesan cheese
• Toasted sliced almonds (optional)
• Apx. 1 cup Ken’s Lite Raspberry Walnut Vinaigrette dressing 

Marinade chicken

Clean chicken and marinade according to package directions, replacing white vinegar, (listed on package), with raspberry vinegar, and vegetable oil, (listed on package), with olive oil *use your choice of olive oil from extra virgin to light – the more virgin the oil the more olive flavor. Set, (in refrigerator), at least 30 minutes (the chicken, not yourself). *For best flavor, marinade 2 hours.

Prepare salad

Rinse greens and spinach with cold water in strainer while tossing to combine; pinch into bite-size pieces, (do not use knife – it will brown the lettuce), squeezing out excess water, and fill very large serving  bowl.  Toss with salt, fresh ground pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Toss in carrots, tomatoes, and apples. Set in refrigerator while cooking chicken.

Cook chicken

Grill chicken over medium-high heat, or coals, until done, about 4 minutes each side. Note: If using chicken tenders, it takes very little time to cook – DO NOT leave your grill unattended. If you accidentally leave your grill unattended, you will have created blackened chicken.

Put it all together

Let chicken cool to room temperature while tossing salad with raspberry walnut dressing. Top with shredded parmesan and toasted almonds. Place chicken on top of salad. To keep everyone from having to cut their own chicken, I cut the chicken tenders into bite-size pieces before placing on salad. Serves 4.

Happy Easter, bawk-bawk!

 

Do y’all remember this M&M’s ad for Easter?

 

My family loved that commercial so much that, from that season on, that’s how we greeted one another on Easter – Happy Easter, bawk-bawk!

Easter, in my opinion, is one of the best holidays of the year. We get to celebrate the resurrection of Christ, (*Note – Googling “what is Easter about?” brings about several controversial sites; I found this one to be the most legitimate), and the vibrant colors of newly born flowers, birds, and yes, Easter eggs. I love color! Apparently I got that trait from my mom – she dressed my two sisters and me in colorful, albeit pastel, outfits every year for Easter. I don’t recall the weather ever being warm on Easter. It seems every picture she has of us on Easter Sunday we’re all cuddled together, arms wrapped around ourselves or each other, with our already stringy hair flying away in the wind. But this year, (according to the weather channel at this moment anyway), is supposed to be warm and mostly sunny.

We are fortunate enough to have a big feast at my parent’s every year for Easter. I normally make my candy carrots, but in years past I have made fancy-looking cakes that were super-easy to do. Somewhere in this mess of a house are the original hard-copy photos of the Easter basket cake and the Easter bunny cake I made years ago, and probably the recipes too, but I ain’t about to go looking for them, sorry. Instead, check out these links for the recipes and photos – they’re either the very ones I used, (although I most likely changed something up as I always do), or similar enough.

Easter basket cake at Family Fun.

Easter bunny cake at All Recipes.

Meanwhile, here’s a great Easter dessert for you to try – my banana pudding. It’s easy, and, (since it has that fruit in it), can be considered healthy! Enjoy and I hope you all have a very happy Easter!

Banana Pudding

• 2 small (3.4 oz) packages instant vanilla pudding  *Note – for even better results, use 1 box vanilla and 1 box white chocolate or butterscotch pudding
• 1 cup milk
• 1 – 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
• 1 – 8 oz container sour cream
• 8 oz whipped cream, (packaged or homemade – recipe for homemade below)
• 4 – 6 sliced bananas
• ½ package (about 25 cookies) + ¼ package (about 15 cookies), vanilla wafers (crush the ¼ package)
• 4 whole graham crackers, crushed

 In medium bowl, whisk together pudding mix and milk until mix is dissolved.  Refrigerate 15 minutes, until partially set, (may be set without refrigerating, dependent upon weather – usually mine doesn’t get thin enough to have to set in refrigerator).  Stir in condensed milk until smooth.  Fold in sour cream and whipped cream.  Fold in bananas. 

Make a single layer of vanilla wafers in the bottom of a 9×13 dish.  Spread pudding evenly over wafers. Repeat process, adding two more layers (use the 1/2 package whole wafers). Crush remaining wafers [1/4 package] and graham crackers together and sprinkle on top.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until serving.

Homemade whipped cream

*Note: measurements are approximate – I just keep pouring and mixing until I have the consistency (whipped) and amount I want. This makes a little more than you’ll need for the banana pudding. You can store what you have left over in the freezer to put on pies later! Also, depending on what you’re making it for, you can add about a tsp. of appropriate flavoring extract or liqueur; for example – when making whipped cream for pecan pie, I add 1 tsp. Gran Marnier. This can be done after freezing and thawing, in case you’re unsure what you want to do with it later.

• 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 1 pint heavy whipping cream
• 1 Tbs. vanilla

Pour about half of confectioner’s sugar, whipping cream, and all vanilla in mixing bowl. Start mixing on low speed, increasing speed to high, and stopping mixer occasionally to scrape sides. With mixer off, pour in more sugar and whipping cream, then mix again beginning on low, increasing to high. Repeat process until all is incorporated and whipped cream “peaks” and sticks to spoon.

 For fancy presentation, put a big whopping spoonful of banana pudding in blue margarita glass, top with a vanilla wafer, and drizzle with butterscotch sauce.

Getting There

Hey y’all! I just wanted to give you a quick update. Some of you may know that I had to take a “life time out” last week to deal with a personal family issue. Thanks to all of your positive thoughts, energy, and prayer, we’re healing, slowly, but surely. I even got to take a couple of hours to myself Saturday, (thanks to the hubby!), to work on the novel, and surprised myself by being able to block out everything and let the characters speak. They gave me 5,000 words! Now, those words may not make it in the final draft, but hey, that’s not so bad considering, right?

Meanwhile, I just got back to work today and am naturally piled up with it, so I’ll have to devote most of my evenings, as well as regular work hours, to catch up.  I’m way behind on my blog reading, and it may still be a while before I’m able to blog myself, or socialize, (although I do plan to participate in the lovely Paige Vonliber’s Stupid Blog Party planned for April 1 – I mean, if it just has to be stupid, how long could it take me, right?)  More than likely, I won’t have time to write a flash for Friday, but I’ll certainly hope for the time and some sort of inspiration to hit me. Lord knows I need to write, for without writing I’d have no mind at all left. Or is that why there’s hardly one left to begin with?

Thanks again, so very much, for all your thoughts, prayers, and positive energy! I appreciate you all more than I can say.

Plop-plop, Fizz-fizz

Surely I’m not the only one old enough to recall the Alka-Seltzer® jingle Plop-plop, fizz-fizz, oh what a relief it is!  Please tell me I’m not the only one.

When I was around 7-years-old we went on a camping excursion that resulted in that jingle becoming our family song. Now when I say we went camping, I do not mean we filled the RV with all the necessities of home. Indeed, RV, (to us anyway), probably meant Rancid Vomit. Uh-uh, no luxury for us – we roughed it. With tent, sleeping bags, and not much else, we piled into the jeep and bounced our way up the steep and narrow trail to the top of Pond Mountain.

On this particular weekend it was so cold that Mom wrapped us girls up in quilts and, to keep our minds off the fact that our teeth were chattering and our lips turning blue, she began to sing  Plop-plop, fizz-fizz, oh what a relief it is! And over, and over, and over until, finally, we reached our destination.

Immediately upon arrival, we girls went in search for the perfect marshmallow sticks while Daddy set out to gather wood to build the fire for those marshmallows. I remember him carrying an entire tree from the shadow of the forest to our campsite.  

My daddy is such a strong man. It may have taken a while for me to realize it, but eventually I would learn that he’s as emotionally strong as he was physically strong then. I believe my daddy could hold his hand up and stop the wind. Or at least he can use the old-timey formula to take away your warts, and really, what more can a daughter ask for? We’re not allowed to know that method because, as legend has it, once the appointed wart-taker-awayer tells the secret he’s no longer able to work the magic himself. I hope he has a few minutes before he leaves this life to fill at least one of us in.

We girls didn’t realize it at the time, but the survival skills Mom and Daddy taught us while camping would serve us well much later in our lives. 

Literally speaking, I once got stuck on top of Holston Mountain, a steep and curvy road leading to the lake, in a snow storm, and was alone all day. No problem. I knew how to build a fire. It’s a good thing I had a candy bar in the car though because I sure wouldn’t have been able to hunt my own food. I know how to fish, thanks again to Daddy, but I was far from a creek, and without a pole my prospects weren’t all that great anyway, (not to mention it was too cold for the fish).  Well, like I said, I could build a fire.

This is also how we survive in the [sometimes] harsh world we live in today. When things look bleak, if we’re having a hard time, even if we’re just trying to get along, I make sure we get busy at fixing it. I build the fire that says “Standing around whining about it ain’t gonna fix it. Get busy!” And so we do. I make sure that fire is prodded and fanned just enough to keep it going until I see for sure we’re out of danger. I owe that ability to my mom and dad. They showed me, all my life, if you find yourself down and out, there’s no one that can reach down and help you if you don’t first get up and help yourself.

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When we camped closer to spring, and it wasn’t so cold out, Daddy would take me to the creek to help him catch our supper of trout. Then we’d grill it over the campfire. Even when we didn’t camp though, Daddy and I went fishing often. I didn’t like to eat fish, but I loved the whole adventure of going fishing with Daddy, from putting the worm or corn on the hook, to catching a big trout, to cutting the head off and filleting it. 

None of us girls liked the smell of fish cooking, not even Mom, but she would always fry up Daddy’s catch for him when he brought it home. 

I have since come to appreciate the taste of trout, and cook it now and then the way I remember Mom doing, (though I occasionally throw something in that she wouldn’t dare). 

Here is the simplest way I know to fry a good trout:

Fried Trout

• Your daily catch of trout (this recipe is for approximately 4 good-sized fish or 2 lbs)
• 4 Tbs. olive oil, (can be replaced with lard – that’s shortening for you non-southern folk)
• ¾ cup buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 cup cornmeal mix
• Salt, & fresh ground pepper to taste
• Paprika, to taste (one of my additions)
• Marjoram, to taste (another of my additions)

Clean and filet the fish, being sure to remove all the bones. Dab dry with paper towels.

Heat oil, or lard, in large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.

In shallow dish, whisk together buttermilk, egg, salt & pepper. 

In another shallow dish, stir together cornmeal mix, salt, pepper, paprika, and marjoram.

Dip the fish in the buttermilk mixture, then drown it in the cornmeal mixture. Place fish in the heated skillet; turn heat down to medium. Cook approximately four minutes on each side. 

Goes good with green beans and hushpuppies!

The Coal Truck Chronicles

My mother was a saint. She had to have been, to put up with my two sisters and me, day in and day out. It was a rare, (and I’m sure cherished), event for one of us to be out from under her feet for a day. While Mom stayed home and praised God, I rode beside my daddy, headed to the hills of Virginia and Kentucky to pick up and deliver coal. 

I loved this time with Daddy. And though he may have been taking me along to help Mom out, I believe he enjoyed the time with me too. He’d blast Jimmy Rodgers or Johnny Cash on his 8-track player, (he had to blast it as the truck didn’t have the quietest engine), and tell me stories of his childhood, or point out places he’d been, telling me about the people who lived there. How I wish I’d been paying better attention.   

On one of these trips Daddy wanted to show me off, so Mom scrubbed me down and decorated me in a pretty white dress. Let’s see – white dress and coal – ummm, probably not such a good idea. You all may recall me saying that I never was a girly-girl, (indeed there were many times I wished I’d been a boy), so I didn’t sit pretty on the bumper of the truck while Daddy helped to load coal into the truck bed. No, I had to be active, and what was there to do in a coal yard? When Daddy and I arrived home, Mom said I was so covered in coal she saw no trace of the pretty little girl she’d sent out the door mere hours earlier. 

I believe the biggest reason I loved and admired my daddy so was because he let me roam free, something I’ve always needed, and I’m sure that will never change. He encouraged me to do what I was passionate about, to try new things, and to never give up on my dreams. He still does. Without that support, I doubt I’d be writing today. 

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Though we didn’t have much in the way of material things in those days, Mom and Daddy made sure we had what we needed, love above all else. Our main staple was soup beans and cornbread. We girls didn’t care much for it, (probably because we had it so often), but with time I came to appreciate it. Now it’s one of my favorite meals. For some reason I’ve yet to understand, it always tastes better the day after cooking, as leftovers.

Here’s my recipe for soup beans and cornbread, and since I forgot to post that recipe of the white chocolate banana cake a couple weeks ago, I’ve listed it here too. Enjoy!  

Soup Beans and Cornbread

• Ham bone from country ham, or about 1 lb of fatback
• 12 oz Bag pinto or October beans
• Salt
• Water

Place ham bone or fatback in bottom of crock pot, fat side up. Pour beans into pot, removing and discarding darker-colored ones while sifting through fingers. Add salt, to taste, and add enough water to cover. Cook on low heat at least six hours, or until beans are tender. Serve with cornbread, and lots of butter. Green onion is a great side item, as well as sauerkraut. Oh, and fried taters! Don’t forget the fried taters!

Deanna’s Sweet Buttermilk Cornbread

I have always “eyeballed” the ingredients for my cornbread, so these measurements are a guess.

• 3 ½ cups buttermilk cornmeal mix
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1 egg
• About ¾ gallon, (or 3 cups), buttermilk
• 2 Tbs. canola oil
• A lot of butter

Pour oil into 12” cast-iron skillet; place in oven.  Preheat oven to 425°.

Stir first four ingredients in large mixing bowl, adding each in order listed. You may need to adjust the amount of buttermilk according to the weather, (if it’s dry out you’ll need to add more buttermilk). Using thick glove pot holders, (ON BOTH HANDS), carefully remove skillet from oven and set on stovetop. Pour cornbread mixture into skillet. Put skillet back in oven – again, using glove pot holders on both hands. Bake 20 – 25 minutes, or until top is lightly browned, and a knife inserted in middle comes out clean. Remove cornbread from oven, (don’t forget those pot holders), and immediately turn out onto sturdy serving plate. Let rest about 7 – 8 minutes. Using serated knife, slice into 8 pieces. Use same knife to open each piece of cornbread in half.  Slather the butter on. 

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And now for that dessert! Believe it or not, this is one of the lightest tasting cakes I’ve ever created. I was equally surprised that my son, Noah, loved it so much that, after each of the four of us had one slice, he finished the whole rest of the cake off himself, (albeit it did take two days). 

White Chocolate Banana Cake with White Chocolate Butter Pecan Frosting

Buttered pecans:

• 2 cups pecan halves
• ¼ cup butter (NOT margarine)

Melt butter in heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add pecans and brown 10 – 15 minutes, stirring frequently. Spread evenly over wax paper or aluminum foil and allow to cool. Chop pecans for frosting. *This recipe will yield more than you need for the frosting – store remainder in airtight container to put in your pancake mix tomorrow morning!

Cake

• 3 – 2 oz. bars Baker’s white chocolate, melted
• 1 medium banana, mashed
• 1 – 3 oz. package instant white chocolate pudding mix
• 1 box Betty Crocker golden vanilla cake mix, (and ingredients listed on box)

Frosting

• 3 – 2 oz. bars Baker’s white chocolate, melted and cooled *while cooling, stir occasionally to keep chocolate from hardening
• ½ cup butter, (NOT margarine), softened
• 1 – 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
• ¼ cup buttered pecans

Prepare cake pans: grease and flour 3 – 8” round cake pans; set aside.

Melt chocolate over low heat, stirring constantly with wire whisk. Divide in half and set aside to cool. Mash one medium banana with fork until smooth and creamy. *If you still have pieces of banana after using fork, you can use a wire whisk to get it creamy.

Mix cake according to package directions, adding pudding mix, melted white chocolate, and banana. Note – the chocolate for cake mix does not need to be completely cooled. Divide batter evenly among cake pans. Bake at 350° for 22 – 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and edges are golden brown. Set on counter to cool.

Mix frosting: Cream butter and cream cheese with mixer, occasionally scraping sides of bowl, and increasing speed until smooth. Add chocolate and continue to beat on medium speed until smooth. Add vanilla. Alternately add powdered sugar and whipping cream, beating well after each addition until smooth and creamy. Stir in buttered pecans. *If frosting appears too “soft”, let sit in refrigerator approximately 10 minutes.

When cake is completely cool, carefully remove from pans, spreading frosting between each layer, on top, and on sides of cake.

I asked for this?

My boys

When I was pregnant, both with my first son, Jimmy and with my second, Noah, I prayed every night for God to give me a boy.  Of course when people asked “Do you want a boy or a girl?” I gave the standard answer: “As long as it’s healthy, it doesn’t matter.”  But it did matter.  Secretly, I wished for a boy. 

I never have liked dolls, or playing house, so I cringed at the thought of having a little girl and attending a tea party.  I’d much rather dig for worms and go fishing.  Imagine my joy when God gave me a boy – both times.  I was so thrilled!  I immediately set about planning the many fun, (outdoor!), adventures we’d have. 

Noah was such a pretty little boy, for the longest time, everyone thought he was a girl.  I rarely dressed him in anything but blue for the first two years of his life to make it clear that yes, he’s a boy.  But on his first Easter, shortly after his first birthday, I couldn’t resist dressing him and Jimmy up in white suits.  They looked so lovely. 

I took a few pictures and then went to warm the car up before leaving for church.  My husband, Jim, was getting dressed in the bedroom right next to them, so I thought nothing of leaving the boys in the living room, since I would only be away for a couple of minutes. 

I was gone for no more than five minutes. 

What do you think?

When I returned, to my horror, I found Noah sitting in the middle of a huge potted plant, holding our very hairy cat down on his lap, pouring pancake syrup all over himself and the cat, and, naturally, the wood floor beneath the plant.

There was syrup, potting soil, and cat hair everywhere! 

With only fifteen minutes before church started, there was no way I’d be able to clean him up, (never mind Niles, the cat), in time to make it to services.  Indeed, it took about an hour to bathe Noah, and then another two hours, (and many scratches), to get Niles looking halfway normal again.  Add about a week to remove the syrup from the grooves in the wood floor.  Needless to say, Noah missed his first Easter Sunday service.

I’m sure that wasn’t the first time I wished God would’ve given me girls, but after nearly thirteen years of many such moments, I can’t imagine life would be that much different with girls. I would’ve only had to endure changing pretend poopy diapers on baby dolls, and I would’ve missed seeing the joy on my boys’ faces when they caught their first fish.

I am so grateful for my boys, syrup, cat hair, and all!

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These carrots are one of Jimmy and Noah’s favorites.  They’re great for Easter dinner, though they can be made any time, and it’s a good way to sneak veggies into your children if they have a sweet tooth. The best part about it is that you can make these two ways, depending on whether you have a couple of hours or just a few minutes!

Deanna’s Candy Carrots

Slow cooking version:

• 1 small bag baby carrots, rinsed
• 1 Tbs. each: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves
• ¼ cup Karo syrup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• ¼ cup water

Combine all in heavy saucepan and cook on medium-low heat for ½ hour.  Turn heat down to simmer and cook for 1 hour, or until carrots are tender-crisp.

Quick cooking version:

• 2 cans Del Monte sliced carrots, (don’t drain)
• 1 Tbs. each: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, ground cloves
• ¼ cup Karo syrup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Combine all in heavy saucepan and cook on medium-low heat for about 15 minutes.  Can be simmered up to an hour for more flavor infusion.

A Very Bad Day

Fortunately, I’ve not had “one of those days” lately, but when we do, or at least when I do, it seems all I want is some good ole’ comfort food to make all the worries go away. Here’s the story of one of the worst days of my life – keep in mind I was only 17, so at that point I’d not had a “true” bad day yet.

 A Very Bad Day

As a senior in high school, I pretty much had it made. Though we weren’t rich by any means – indeed, there were times when we wondered where the next meal would come from – my Mom did everything in her power to make sure my sisters and I got to do what we wanted in school, (as long as what we wanted to do was constructive of course). 

All three of us were in the school band; my youngest sister played the drums, my middle sister played clarinet, and I, (not being able to make any sort of melodious sound emanate from any instrument), was captain of the auxiliary corp (flag and rifle team).

I have always been blessed with the gift of a great thirst for knowledge; therefore, my grades were good enough that I had earned all but one of the required credits to graduate by the time I began my senior year. This meant I was required to pass only one more math class, (though I loved school, math was the bane of my existence – I’m a word person, not a numbers person), which left me five classes to do with as I pleased. Of course one of those electives was band class; I used the others for enhancing my acting skills, (with drama class), and helping the junior English/Lit teacher grade papers. Since there was still half a day of school hours left, I used those to help Mom at home as I could, while studying to pass that horrendous math class, and creating routines for the flag team. 

One afternoon I had a couple of hours to kill before leaving to pick up my sisters from school, so I wasted that time by watching MTV, (this was when there was actually music on music television). Mom called me from work. It was almost time for her lunch hour. She wanted me to come pick her up, help her get groceries, and bring them back home, (we shared a car). She told me to hurry since she only had an hour.

I jumped in the car and backed out of the driveway quickly, and immediately heard, and felt, a thump-du-thump. I glanced in the rear view mirror in time to see Garfield, our fat, orange cat, hobble-running away into the woods. 

I got out of the car and ran to see if she was okay. Before I even took three steps I was flat on my back, looking into the angry mouth of Rambo, our German Shepherd. He was a friendly dog, but always had been protective of Garfield. 

After wrestling with Rambo for several seconds I realized I was going to have to be calm in order to get him off me, so I settled down. I reached up and patted his neck, gently asking him to please get off me. Finally he took one paw off one shoulder. I gradually sat up and coaxed him the rest of the way, rising to my feet and tip-toeing to the woods to look for Garfield. I searched for a few minutes, but couldn’t find her. 

As if coming out of a dream, I remembered what I was supposed to be doing. I prayed to Garfield for forgiveness, and got back in the car. By now it was getting late, and I knew I had to hurry. I sped down the road just as the rain started- the first rain we’d had in weeks. As I rounded the first curve the car slid sideways, and was headed straight for the sheer drop off the other side of the road.

Everything I learned about driving not even two years earlier came streaking through my head like a slow-motion movie. I took my feet off the pedals and steered the car as far to the right as I could. I ended up in the ditch, but at least I didn’t go over the bank.

After catching my breath, I got out of the car and started walking. There was a house not far away, but I didn’t know the occupants. I knocked on the door and told the elderly lady who answered about my predicament, and asked if I could use her phone.

With my luck-of-the-day, she didn’t believe me, and wasn’t about to trust me enough to allow me into her home. I had to lead her to my car to show her that yes, I had wrecked, I was alone, and I was not about to rob her. Finally she allowed me inside and I called Mom. Needless to say, she wasn’t very happy.

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We found Garfield dead. We got the car out of the ditch, and had the tires aligned, the first of many alignments I would experience in my young adult years. In the space of a few hours I had killed our cat, gotten attacked by our dog, wrecked my car, and scared an old woman to death. The only fortunate thing about the whole day was the minimal damage to the vehicle. I learned my lesson – if you want to get anything done right, you’ve got to slow down.

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Here’s a good comfort dish to make all the worries go away. You must take your time with this one, and slow down to enjoy it.

Chicken-n-dumplings

• Whole chicken, cleaned and ready to cook
• 1 Tbs. oregano
• 1 tsp. thyme
• 1 tsp. basil
• 1 tsp. rosemary
• 1 ½ tsp. salt
• 1 ½ tsp. fresh ground pepper
• 2 cups Bisquick
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cans cream-of-chicken soup
• chicken broth (enough to cover chicken – apx 28 oz)

Place chicken in large soup pot. Sprinkle spices in. Add cream-of-chicken soup, and enough chicken broth to cover. Cook, covered, over medium heat, about 2 hours.

When chicken is falling off the bone with the poke of a fork, transfer it from pot to glass baking dish, leaving liquid in pot; keep chicken warm in low-heated oven. [To keep chicken from over-cooking, don’t set oven temperature over 200°.]  *Note: as you’re transferring chicken to baking dish, remove and discard all bones and fat possible.

Meanwhile, make the dough for your dumplings, about the same way you make biscuits, just mixing Bisquick and milk in a large mixing bowl until you have a “biscuit dough” consistency. Drop the dough by tablespoonfuls into chicken soup mixture. Cook dumplings on medium heat until done, (fluffy as clouds), about 20 – 30 minutes. Put chicken back in pot with dumplings, and keep on low heat until ready to eat.

Happy Valentine’s Day…er, Week!

Ah, love is in the air. Doesn’t it feel just marvelous? There may still be snow on the ground, but the lovely, lavender snow crocuses and icicle pansies are poking their little heads out, creating a gorgeous hope for us that no snow could ever crush.

Valentine’s Day is one of my favorite holidays, not only because of God’s beauty painting the landscape, but more because it’s a good excuse to give so freely and directly from the heart. Nothing makes me happier than making my loved ones happy.  And the easiest way to make them happy is by cooking their favorite treats.

I admit it – there aren’t many of my “fancy” recipes that my children like. They’re regular kids who’d rather have a hot dog and fries, (or, horror of horrors – McD’s), than anything remotely good for them. But one meal I make that they not only eat, but love, is my cheat-easy spaghetti with Italian bread and even a (Gasp) salad! Of course they know if they eat enough of the halfway healthy stuff they’ll be treated to the traditional dessert for Valentine’s Day, my white chocolate raspberry swirl cheesecake.

In honor of all the love flowing freely through the air, here is our Valentine’s Day menu, and all the recipes. I do hope you’ll try these out, preferably as the meal for Valentine’s Day, but any time is a good time for love. So get cooking!  Turn on some romantic music, such as Norah Jones, and be sure to have a nice glass of Biltmore’s Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc de Noir, a semi-sweet raspberry and citrus wine with hints of melon* on hand while whipping up the feast.

 ~ Deanna’s Romantic Valentine’s Day Menu ~

~ Spring Salad

~ Cheat-Easy Roasted Garlic and Onion Spaghetti

~ Italian Bread with Olive Oil Dip

~ White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake

 

Deanna’s Spring Salad 

• 4 cups Fresh baby greens, washed and dried with paper towels
• 4 cups Fresh baby spinach, washed and dried with paper towels
• 1 ½ cups Watermelon, cubed small
• 1 ½  cup Braeburn apples, julienned (unpeeled; apx 1 ½ medium apples)
• ¼ cup slivered almonds
• Salt, to taste
• Fresh ground pepper, to taste
• Shredded Italian blend cheese or Feta cheese *thanks to Marisa Birns for reminding me to list the cheese!
• Raspberry walnut salad dressing – about ¼ cup total

Wash baby greens and baby spinach in cold water; dry thoroughly with paper towels, (if spinach is the least bit wet it will wilt and cause other ingredients to be mushy). Toss both in large mixing bowl and sprinkle with salt & and fresh ground pepper, tossing with each addition, (about three times). Toss in raspberry walnut salad dressing slowly, making sure to toss thoroughly to coat. Note – if you are unable to find raspberry walnut dressing, use any berry/nut dressing. Divide among individual salad bowls and top with watermelon, apples and almonds and cheese. 

Deanna’s Cheat-Easy Roasted Garlic and Onion Spaghetti

• Thin spaghetti pasta, (enough for 4 servings)
• 4 cups water, (to boil pasta in)
• 1 lb. ground chuck
• ½ small red onion, chopped
• ½ small green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 – 2 Tbs. garlic salt, (depending on how much you like garlic)
• Fresh ground pepper
• 1 jar BertolliÒ Vidalia Onion with Roasted Garlic pasta sauce
• Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

In deep skillet, with about 1 Tbs. olive oil, fry ground chuck with onion, green bell pepper, garlic salt and fresh ground pepper over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, bring water to boil in deep saucepan, (add apx 1 Tbs. olive oil to prevent sticking), and cook pasta according to package directions; drain – DO NOT rinse (rinsing removes starch that makes sauce stick to pasta).

When meat has browned completely, pour in pasta sauce, stir together and simmer over low heat until pasta is done. 

Combine pasta with sauce. Serve in big ole’ heaps, shredding freshly grated Parmesan over top.

Deanna’s Italian Bread with Olive Oil Dip

• 1 loaf crusty Italian bread
• 6 Tbs. Olive Oil – you can use any kind, from “regular” to virgin to extra virgin; the more virgin, the stronger the flavor
• 1 Tbs. dried basil
• 1 Tbs. fresh ground pepper
• 1 Tbs. dried oregano

Pour olive oil into shallow serving dish. Sprinkle in basil, fresh ground pepper, and oregano. Break off bread in pieces, dip in olive oil mixture and eat!

Deanna’s White Chocolate Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake 

Crust:

• 2 cups ginger snap crumbs, (about 50 cookies)
• 1 cup crushed pecans, (or you can use almonds)
• ½ cup melted butter

Raspberry Sauce:

• 2 cups Smucker’s raspberry preserves
• ¼ cup sugar
• 1/3 cup Karo syrup

Cheesecake:

• 4 – 8 oz. packages cream cheese, at room temperature (Philadelphia Brand for best results)
• 1 cup sugar
• 6 squares, (6 – 1 oz. bars), Baker’s white chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 1 Tbs. vanilla extract
• 4 eggs, at room temperature

Prepare: Set cream cheese, sour cream, and eggs out to come to room temperature, (4 – 6 hours before beginning).

Preheat oven to 350°.  Prepare pan: grease 8 or 9” springform pan with cooking spray or shortening.  [Size of pan depends on how tall you want cheesecake to be.]  Melt white chocolate in heavy saucepan on low heat, stirring constantly when melting begins.  When completely melted, immediately pour into glass bowl and let cool to room temperature. 

Meanwhile, make raspberry sauce: in heavy saucepan, combine raspberry preserves, Karo syrup, and sugar.  Stir using wire whisk to incorporate and cook on low heat until sauce is thinned, about ten minutes.  Pour sauce into bowl through strainer, mashing with rubber spatula to get all sauce out; discard seeds.  Set sauce aside.

Make crust: Combine ginger snap crumbs, (use blender or food processor to crumb ginger snaps), crushed pecans, and melted butter in medium mixing bowl.  Stir until you have a doughy consistency.  Pour into prepared springform pan, and pat to spread on bottom and about ¼ way up sides; set aside.

Make cheesecake: Beat cream cheese on medium speed until creamy and without lumps.  [You will need to stop mixer ocassionaly to scrape sides throughout entire mixing process.]  With mixer on low speed, pour in sugar slowly.  Beat on medium speed until combined and creamy.  Pour in white chocolate and beat on medium speed until combined and creamy.  Pour in vanilla and sour cream, and beat on medium speed until combined and creamy.  Add eggs, one at a time, and mix on low speed until just combined; do not beat after eggs are added, (beating eggs causes cheesecake to crack).  Pour cheesecake into prepared pan.  Drizzle raspberry sauce over cheesecake mixture.  Use butter knife to swirl raspberry sauce into cheesecake mixture.  Bake for 45 – 50 minutes; done when edges just begin to brown – should be just a bit jiggly in middle.  Remove from oven and let set on counter for 30 minutes.  Unlatch pan.  Let set another 15 minutes.  Carefully run butter knife along edges between cheecake and pan to loosen; remove pan shell and set cheesecake in refrigerator for at least 4 hours before serving.  When slicing, keep paper towel handy to wipe knife between cutting slices, or do like I do and use your fingers and mouth.

Love is in the air

 I hope you all have a fantastic, loving Valentine’s Day!

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Photos courtesy of The Graphics Fairy

*Note to FTC: I received no compensation for touting Biltmore’s wine. However, if you’re an employee at Biltmore and would like to send me a bottle of wine, please do contact me via email for my address. And thank you! The same goes for all brand names mentioned in my recipes above.

Superbowl Sunday – Feast Time!

My husband and youngest son are big Pittsburg Steelers fans. I’m a big Indianapolis Colts fan. I guess you can figure out who will be happiest come this Sunday, if you know anything about football that is. If you don’t, here’s the scoop – my Indianapolis Colts will be whooping up on the New Orleans Saints in the XLIV Superbowl this Sunday. Granted, I don’t watch NFL as much as I do college football. I believe the young men playing for their schools just play with more heart than those who play for the NFL, (not to downsize those men). I imagine it’s because of the stakes at hand. NFL players, though they do play hard, know that no matter how they play, they’ll go home with millions of dollars lining their shiny pockets, whereas the college players are working mainly to keep their scholarships, and they must step it up a notch if they want to hold their position, and earn more towards those scholarships.

SEC football is my favorite, with the UT Vols being “my” team, hence the reason I like the Colts. Their quarterback, Peyton Manning, was the quarterback for the Vols before he started his NFL career. Yes, I bleed orange! Want to know something funny? My youngest son, Noah, is a Florida Gators fan. Yes, it can get quite ugly here each year during the Vols vs. Gators game. You can read the story of how this came about, (along with my goodbye to Coach Kiffin), on The Life of a Working Writer Mommy here.

But enough about me! This post is to bring you the feast of Superbowl Sunday. We always fix up a schmorgasboard of treats for the superbowl, and you don’t even have to spend all day in the kitchen to whip this together, (although there are a couple of things I prepare the day before). One of the easiest things to do is buy the prepackaged snack trays from your grocer. Most all stores have them nowadays – a meat/cheese/cracker tray, a veggies with dip tray, and even fruit trays, usually with a fruit dip. I make my own simply because I like to choose which meats, cheeses, veggies and fruits to use, and I enjoy making the dips, but if you’re in a hurry there’s nothing wrong with buying store-prepared snack trays.

If you’re having company, it’s a good idea to have a variety of snacks in order to satisfy everyone’s taste buds. Have something salty, sweet, tangy, spicy, etc, etc. Here is our menu for Superbowl Sunday:

• Veggie tray: Ranch dip with baby carrots, red bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes *Note: you can use any kind of raw veggies you like, from broccoli to cauliflower, any color bell peppers to celery, anything. I use Hidden Valley Ranch dip mix, which you just stir together with 16 oz of sour cream – it’s quite tasty and can be used for chips too.
• Fruit tray: Strawberries, apples, green grapes, and kiwi *Note, again, use any kind of fruit you like, but if for the dip be sure to use a sturdy fruit, such as the strawberries, to keep it from “squishing”. For the dip, beat 8 oz of cream cheese, (only Philadelphia brand will do), with 8 oz of marshmallow crème on high speed until light and fluffy. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.
• Meat and Cheese tray: Hillshire Farms Smoked Sausage, sliced, (or any type “ring bologna), with sliced sharp cheddar cheese, gouda cheese, Colby cheese, and jalapeno/cheddar cheese *Note: use whatever kind of sturdy cheese you like that you can slice into bite-size pieces. Serve with a variety of snack crackers. I use Nabisco ‘Chicken in a Biscuit’, TownHouse ‘Garlic & Herb Toppers’, Nabisco ‘Sociables’.
• Pesto Cream Cheese Dip w/ Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil Triscuits: See my pesto cream cheese dip recipe here. Serve w/ Cracked Pepper and Olive Oil Triscuits
• Caramel Fondue w/ apples: Melt Kraft caramels in fondue pot, serve w/ sliced Braeburn or golden delicious apples
• Hot Wings: Every football party must have hot wings. I use Paula Deen’s recipe, Red Hot Sticky Wings, which you can find here .

Even though we have all these snacks, I feel like we must have a main dish of some sort, so this year we’re doing my Sticky Pig Sandwich.  This recipe was one of those true accidents when I discovered one evening that, instead of hamburger, I had thawed pork chops. I had to think quick because we had little time for dinner that night. So here’s what I came up with – the Sticky Pig Sandwich:

• The Sticky Pig Sandwich 

*        4 thick, center-cut, boneless, skinless pork chops 

*        ½ lb bacon 

*        ½ red onion, sliced 

*        1 Tbs. olive oil 

*        2 – 3 Tbs. Emeril’s seasoning 

*        1 Tsp. Fresh ground pepper 

*        1 Tsp. Garlic salt 

Cook bacon: Fry bacon in deep skillet over medium-high heat until well done, (the key to crispy bacon is to constantly turn it); set aside on paper plate, leaving grease in skillet.  

Caramelize onions: Turn heat down to medium-low (cover and remove skillet from heat while stove eye cools to medium-low).  After apx 5 minutes, return skillet to stove eye.  Pour sliced onion into the bacon grease, slowly, (and stand back because grease will pop).  Sprinkle pepper and garlic salt in; stir continuously until the onion reaches a caramel color and is tender-crisp.  Remove from pan and set aside. 

Cook pork chops: Wash pork chops in cold water and pat dry with paper towels.  Place in dry skillet, and poke several holes in both sides with fork.  Sprinkle both sides of meat with Emeril’s seasoning.  Fry over medium-high heat, about 7 minutes each side.  When pork chops begin to turn golden brown, slowly pour in 1 Tbs olive oil.  Using two long, serrated knives, shred pork chops in pan while continuing to fry.  Stir meat until done, about 10 minutes.  Pour in ½ cup Jack Daniel’s honey smokehouse barbeque sauce, stir, and immediately remove from heat.  Crumble in bacon and stir.  Cover and let sit about 5 minutes. 

Build: Place pork mixture on bottom hamburger bun; top w/ caramelized onions & extra barbeque sauce if desired.  Cover with top hamburger bun.  

Of course we must also have some sort of sweets, so…

• White Chocolate Banana Nut Cake: I just dreamed this up this morning and haven’t developed the recipe yet, but if it turns out good I’ll post the recipe.  My idea is basically to make a traditional white cake infused with melted white chocolate, mashed bananas, white chocolate pudding mix, and pecans, and make butter cream frosting with melted white chocolate and pecans. Wish me luck!

Okay, that ought to do it. For more great game day recipes, check out the Food Network. I’d love to hear what you usually do for game day. Do you stay in the kitchen the entire day before like I do, have pizza delivered, or just grab whatever the pantry and fridge holds?

GO COLTS!